Distance learning is a new tool that some schools are using in order to give students an option of taking a class at home instead of at the classroom. This is an interesting way of teaching because it provides the comfort of working at home for students, which is becoming an increasing trend as of 2019, while still providing high-quality education from professional educators. Nevertheless, while distance teaching is an innovative idea in theory, this method will have a negative impact on students because there will be too many distractions that will keep students from growing through educational means and developing life skills.

One of the reasons why video based learning will negatively influence students is that this option promotes weakens one's work ethic. One's house will most often contain most of their sources of entertainment, such as video games, food, hobbies, electronic devices, and more. As children with developing brains, staying on task with all of these factors can only be accomplished by a few, but not the majority. A study conducted by the University of Virginia states that, "almost 90% of students under the age of 18 have an attention span of about 10-30 minutes before becoming distracted" (Generic_Name). This exemplifies how most students cannot stay focused in a video based classroom when there is no adult supervisor or teacher directly making sure they listen, which is quite difficult to achieve via distance learning. With this in mind, it is harder for students to have motivation to complete work during class time when they have easy access to other sources of entertainment right at their fingertips. Thus, video based learning is detrimental to student's work ethic because it gives them no motivation to complete their work whereas in the normal school system, they would be forced to work on it during class because of a direct presence of an adult supervisor keeping them on track. All in all, a world without video learning for all students is a one that strengthen's one's work ethic through practice in the work place rather than at home.

Secondly, distance learning encourages antisocial behavior among students, especially in the elementary and middle school level where their brains are developing social skills. According to the New York Times, "children at the earliest age of 6 years old begin developing social patterns that they will continue to emulate throughout their entire lives" (Generic_Name). This proves how these years in a classroom are a crucial time for developing young minds to nurture and grow into mature adults. The reason why video based learning will tamper with this stage in student's minds is because if they only work at home, then unless they go to after school activities, they will not experience how to physically develop long lasting relationships with other people in a work setting. When a teacher assigns a group project, students not only learn about a the topic of their assignment but how to work with and interact with other humans beings of a similar intellect. While human interaction can be achieved through video calls, the experience is way different then if they were to be with each other physically learning how to productively cooperate with people sitting right next to them. This is an important skill to develop because it reflects how people in the real world work in corporate settings to solve a problem together. If one cannot work with other people with differing perspectives in a constructive manner then they will struggle their entire lives. Thus, distance learning also negatively impacts students by denying them the chance to develop social skills that will be vital to them when they become independent adults.

Lastly, video based learning should not be mandatory for all students because it is more difficult for teachers to give individual assistance to students who are struggling in the class. Most often then not, there has been a time where everyone has not understood a concept in a class, or has had a question about an assignment. Video based learning does not help these people since it is more of a hassle for teachers to continue on with a lesson and answer a hundred different questions simultaneously.

Recently, a poll taken in 2019 with the schools who attempted to use distance learning reported that, "almost 95% of students had their grades drop between half and a full letter grade in the past semester because it was more difficult for them to ask questions and succeed" (Generic_Name). This statistic shows from a student's perspective how this educational system is not even increasing the rate of obtaining high grades, which is what this option was meant to do. The interactions between a teacher and a student in a physical setting is what makes the standard class a successful system since it ensures that teachers have an equal opportunity to make the lesson as clear as possible. Video based learning completely takes that function of a classroom away, which hurts students by making it harder to do well in school. Thus, distance learning should not be implemented in schools all around the world since it will only work against students goals.

In conclusion, distance learning is a system with good intentions, but has its flaws that makes it far inferior to the standard classroom. This is because it limits the ability to have a strong work ethic, to develop social skills, and to have the option to ask as many questions as students need. All in all, this educational system will result in an ill equipped generation that is not ready for adulthood and the workplace, and should not be used in schools in the coming future. 